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ADDRESS 


jViSYI^ftEW  f^.  Ds^S-Dy,  L.I,.  !)., 


U,  S.   DISTRICT  .TUDGK, 
OREGON. 


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AN  ADDRESS 


Wallamet    University 


MATTHEW  P.  DEADY,  L.L.  D., 

TJ,  S.   DISTRICT  .lUBGK, 
OREGON. 


J-uune    1,    18^6- 


PORTLAND,  OREGON: 

GEO.    11.    III.MES'    STEAM    PRINTIXG    EST  ABLISllM  KXT, 

•1  Wiisliington  Streot. 

1S76. 


-^ 


LO'514  7 

19. -7  (b 


ADDRESS. 


^lewbers  of  the    Graduating    Class 

of  the    Wallauu't    l')iivcrsitx : 

We   arc   'iict   here  t<>-(lav  to   confer   upon    voii   the  laurel   crown 

awarded  to  those  who   have   successfully  run  the  race  set  for  them 

by  their  Alma  Mater.      Laying  aside  the  habits  and  habiliments  of 

pupilage,    in    the    presence    of  these    sympathizing    relatives    and 

friends,  this  day,  you  mav  be  said   to  assume  the  toga   virilis^  and 

^  with  it  the  duties  and  responsibilities  of  manhood  and  womanhood. 

T-   We  greet  and  congratulate   von   upon   reaching   this    goal    of  vour 

>^  ycjuthful   ambition.      We   heartilv  welcome   you    from    the    narrow 

^  and  secluded  \  ale    of  adolescence,  t(^  the  wide  and  varied  region  of 

2j  adult  life.      As  fellows  and  co-laborers  in   the  battle    and    work    of 

ac  this  world,  we  give  you  the  right  hand  of  fellowship,  and  cordiallv 

SS  bid  you  God-spted  in  your  endeavors  to  i"ealize  the  bright  dreams 

*^  and  high  hopes  which  have  attended  and  sustained  \o\\  through  the 

years    of  stuch'    and    preparation    for    this    important    and    jovous 

occasion. 

Having  equipped  yourself  for  the  joinnev  of  life,  vou  will  soon 
bid  farewell  to  these  familiar  halls  and  groves,  and  join  the  ranks 
of  the  great  caravan  of  humanitv  that  is  ever  toiling  across  the 
deserts,  over  the  mountains  and  through  the  \allevs  of  this  pro- 
bationary world,  on  its  way  from  time  to  eternity.  ^Vs  vou  pass 
along  you  will  encounter  the  memorials  of  the  diverse  generations 
which  have  preceded  vou,  and  mav  learn  from  them  how  to  sliun 
the  dangers  which  beset  your  paths,  and  to  make  \(>ur  ]i\es  worth\ 
of  commemoration  and  example.  Amid  the  din  and  tunnilt  of  the 
busy,  eager  crowd,  some  of  vou  may  soon  disapjjeai'  from  •^iglit,  and 
never  be  known  to  fame.  Others  will  doubtless  gain  the  \  an  and 
go   through   the  world   in   the   front   rank   of  the  column.      \\\\\   in 


291142 


4  U'dlhiiiiil    C/iirrrsifi/. 

i-itluT  l•;l'^^,  llir  jciiiiiK\  is  Imt  for  ;i  (l;i\  ;  and  it  is  well  U>  i"ciiKiMl>tr 
thai  it  is  not  so  iinpoi'taiit  what  vmr  ])C)siti()n  is  (iiirinj;  it — as,  after 
it.  Vit  aihicvc  success  is  one  tiiilljj,  hut  to  cleserv  «•  it  is  another  anrl 
a    hetter. 

Hnl  I  WDiild  not  ha\e  \<)'i,  who  are  just  c-iiterin;^  upon  the  arena 
of  action,  fear  the  result  of"  \n\w  existence,  or  anticipate  the  failure  of 
\ our  hi'^h  endeavors.  Nor  w  ill  I  attempt  to  sow  douhts,  on  this 
auspicious  occasion,  in  the  minds  of  those  to  whom  the  future — all 
rohed  in  sunshine — is  a^low  witli  the  hope  and  promise  cf)ntainc(l 
in  the  heautitul  and  proud  \;nnit  — 

"  In  tlic  Icxiccm  of  vfMitli  wliicli  fate  rosorvfs 
For  a  l)ris?lil  nianliond,  tlnTi-  is  no  siicli  word 
As— FAII-." 

Age  and  experience  ma\'  ponder  and  cjuestion,  but  to  vou,  who 
are  yet  in  the  May-morn  of  life,  and  have  not  experienced  the  vi- 
cissituiles  of  fortune,  all  things  seem  possible.  Courage  and  hope 
are  the  guiding  stars  of  youth.  Led  and  inspired  by  them  it  dares 
and  expects  all  things.  How  sublimely  but  truly  the  author  of 
Evangeline  apostrophizes  it,  as  looking  down  "from  the  snowv  sum- 
mit of  his  years,"  he  hails  and  salutes  the  class  of  his  Alma  Mater 
on  the  semi-centennial  of  his  own  graduation: 

"  How  l)e!iutifnl  is  yoiitli!   how  brisrlit  if  sricams 

Willi  its  illusions,  as|iiratioiis,  (livains  I 

Hook  of  Bosinninjrs,  Story  without  ond, 

Eafh  maid  a  heroine  and  each  man  a  friend  ! 

Alladin's  lamp  and  Fortunatns*  pui-se, 

That  holds  the  treasures  of  tlie  universe! 

All  possibilities  are  in  its  hands, 

No  danger  daunts  it  and  no  foe  withstands; 

In  its  sublime  audaeity  of  faith, 

'  Be  thou  removed  I'  it  to  the  mountain  saith, 

And  with  ambitious  fcet.seeure  antl  jiroud, 

Ascends  the  ladder  leaning  on  the  eloud  !" 

But  age  and  experience  will  eclipse  the  bright  sun  and  abate  the 
c<Mitideuce  of  youth,  though.  (Jod  be  thaid<ed,  thev  cannot  alto- 
gether destroy  the  fond  memories  of  its  "illusions,  aspirations, 
dreams."  In  time  \o\\  will  leaiii  that,  so  far  as  this  world  is  con- 
cerned, lite  is  a  race  in  which  all  run,  but  few  win.  Manv  of  vour 
dearest  dreams  and  most  cherished  hopes  will  disappear  like  phan- 
toms and  leave  only  some  common  place  or  uglv  fact  in  their  stead; 
or  as  you    reach    forth    to    gather   the   seeming   fruit  growing  upon 


."iddress  hi/  Mdttliew  P.  Deadi/.  5 

their  illuson-  branches,  it  will   evade  your  g-rasp,  or  siuUlenl}-  turn 
to  dust  and  ashes  in  your  hands. 

"For  care  and  trouble  set  your  thought, 

E'en  when  your  end's  attained; 
And  a'  your  views  may  come  to  nouglit, 

Where  every  nerve  is  strained." 

Mistaken  as  to  the  nature  and  quality  of  your  talents,  \ou  nia\ 
undertake  some  vocation  in  which  \o\.\  can  ne\er  get  beyond  a 
starving  mediocrity,  whilst  in  another,  not  perhaps  so  conspicuous 
or  attractive,  but  cjuite  as  honorable,  you  might  ha\'e  attained  to  the 
maximinn  of  your  usefulness  and  happiness  ;^ — or  not  content  with 
that  sphere  of  life  for  which  your  endowments  fit  you,  your  ambi- 
tion may  lead  you  to  aspire  beyond  your  ability,  so  that  when  the 
tug  of  war  comes,  you  may  be  borne  down  by  the  weight  of  }  our 
own  shield  or  disabled  by  the  ill-directed  stroke  of  your  own  sword. 
Not  ever}'^  one  could  bend  the  bow  of  Ulysses  or  wield  the  blade 
of  Bruce.     Therefore, 

"Let  liim  not  boast  wlio  puts  liis  armor  on 
As  he  who  puts  it  ofT,  the  l)a1tledone. 
Study  j'ourselves;  and  most  of  all  note  well 
Wherein  kind  nature  meant  you  to  excel. 
Not  every  blossom  ripens  into  fruit: 
Minei'va,  the  inventress  of  the  flute, 
Flung  it  aside  when  she  her  face  surveyed, 
Distorted  in  a  fountain  as  she  played; 
The  unlucky  Marsyas  found  it,  and  his  fate 
Was  one  to  make  the  bravest  hesitate. 

Write  on  your  doors  the  saying  wise  and  old 
"  Be  bold  !  be  bold!  and  everywhere  be  bold; 
Be  not  too  bold !'    Yet  better  the  excess 
Than  the  defect;  better  the  more  than  less: 
Better  like  a  Hector  in  the  field  to  die. 
Than  like  a  perfumed  Pans  turn  and  fly." 

I  never  witness    an  occasion  like  this,  but  I  am  reminded  of  the 

striking    and    beautiful    parallel  by  the   Autocrat  of  the    Breakfast 

Table,  between   "Commencement  Day"  and  the  start  and  race  for 

the  Derby.     Speaking  of  a  graduating  class,  he  says: 

"  The  beautiful  high-bred  three  year  olds  of  the  season  are  brought  up  for  trial. 
Here  they  are — coats  bright  as  silk  and  manes  smooth  as  emt  hi.itralr  can  make  them. 
Some  of  the  best  of  the  oolts  are  jjranced  round,  a  few  minutes  each,  to  sliow  tlieii' 
paces.  What  is  that  old  gentleman  crying  about?  and  the  old  lady  I)y  him,  and  fht- 
three  girls,  what  are  they  all  covering  their  eyes  for  ?  Oh,  that  is  //i«>  colt,  which 
has  just  been  trotted  up  on  the  stage.  To  they  really  think  that  these  little  tliin 
legs  can  do  anything  in  such  a  slashing  sweepstakes,  as  is  coming  ott"  in  these  next 
forty  years  ?" 

Then    a\ailing   himself  of  "the    terriltle    gift   of  second    sight," 


^)  ll'ii/hi/iirf    I  '/iircrsi/j/. 

which  hi-«-;i\s  iniiu-s  to  some-  of  flidsr  \\hi)  "look  thioii;;li  the 
silvnc'd  riii;^s  ol  the  arms  senilis!!^  tlic  Autocrat  j^rapliically  <lc- 
picts  tlic  pro;^rcss  aivl  iiicidfiils  of  tin-  race  o\ir  tht-  world's  course 
tor  the  next  fifty  years: 

"  Ten  yvnrx  f/onr  >  First  luni  Intlii'  raci".  A  ffw  lirolti-n  ilown;  two  ortlirof  lK»lt- 
<'<l.  Hovcral  sliow  In  lulvnncc  of  tlu-  riiok.  Cmxock.si  liliK-tc  r-olt,  soeins  to  bo  alir-iid 
•  if  tlio  rost;  fliose  l)liu'l<  colts  crimnionly  R.-t  tlic  start,  I  liavf  riotU-fel,  of  tlif  ottu-rs, 
in  tlic  first  <|iiartor.     Mrtcor  lias  pulled  up." 

llow   natural  I     The  clerical  Cassock,  havin;^  no  wild  oats  to  sow 

or  heroically  suppressing^  thcm,f^ocs  steadily  tf)  work  from  the  start 

and  soon  takes  the  lead  ;  while  the  brilliant,  dashintj  Meteor  Hashiiij^ 

alonjj^  the  course  for  a  time,  soon  gives  out.     To  change  the  figure. 

''•As  he  rose  like  a  rocket  he  fell  like  the  stick."     But  listen  again: 

"  Twrnty  i/ears.  Second  corner  turned.  Onxsock  has  dropped  from  the  front,  and 
Jiuler,  fii\  iron-fircy,  has  the  h-ad.  Rut  look!  how  they  have  thinned  out!  Down 
flat— five— six— how  many?  They  lie  still  enough  !  they  will  not  get  upagain  in  this 
race,  be  very  sure?  And  the  rest  of  tlicm  wliat  a  '  tail  ins  otT'!  Anyl)ody  can  see 
who  is  goin?  to  win— perhaps." 

This  period,  in  which  we  score  f()rt\'  vears  from  the  crib,  is  the 
turning  point  with  many  in  the  race.  Misfortune  and  misconduct 
— ill-breeding  and  eyil  habits — do  sad  work  upon  numbers  at  this 
time;  and  from  this  on,  none  but  the  well  disciplined  and  good  con- 
ditioned will  be  able  to  keep  up  the  pace  with  which  the  race  pro- 
ceeds. Judex  has  come  to  the  front.  Hitherto  he  has  been  kept 
back  by  the  number  of  entries  on  the  law  side  of  the  course.  At 
first  these  thronged  the  way,  so  that  it  was  impossible  for  him  to 
get  an  opening  to  show  his  speed  and  mettle.  But  now  the  greater 
portion  of  them  have  bolted,  turned  back  or  fallen  by  the  way — 
while  some  of  the  more  showy  but  short-winded  nags  have  taken 
a  near  cut,  h\  the  congressional  or  gubernatorial  cross  roads,  to 
the  winning  post.  But  Judex,  who  has  pulled  straight  and  steady 
on  the  legal  snaffle  for  these  twenty  years,  and  never  balked,  shied 
or  stumbled,  is  now  going  in  to  lead  the  race  to  the  end. 

Another  decade  brings  us  to  an   interesting  point  in  the  struggle. 

"  Thirty  yenrs.  Third  corner  turned.  Dives,  tiright  sorrel,  ridden  b.v  the  fellow  in 
a  yellow  jacket,  begins  to  make  play  fast;  is  getting  to  be  the  favorite  with  many. 
But  who  is  that  other  one  that  has  lieen  lengthening  his  stride  from  the  first,  and 
now  shows  close  up  to  the  front  ?  Don't  you  rememlier  the  (juiet  brtiwn  colt  Asteroid, 
with  the  star  in  his  forehead  ?  That  is  he;  he  is  one  of  the  sort  that  lasts;  look  out 
for  him  !  The  Itlack  'colt,'  as  we  used  to  call  him,  is  in  the  back-ground,  taking  it 
easily  in  a  gentle  trot.  There  is  one  they  used  to  call  the  Filly,  on  account  of  a  cer- 
tain feminine  air  he  had;  well  up,  you  see;  the  Filly  is  not  to  l>e  despised,  my  boy  !" 

Tt  is  on  the  back  stretch   that  Dives  makes  the  best  time.     Like 


.'if/dress  of  Matt/ieir  P.  Deadi/.  7 

Judex,  he  Is  late  coming  to  the  front,  but  is  likely  to  stay  there  un- 
til the  last,  unless  he  swerves  aside  into  the  gambler's  path — in  some 
places  called  the  Boui\se,  California  street  or  Wall  street.  During 
the  first  ten  3^ears  he  labored  hard  and  gathered  slowly,  but  getting 
over  that  critical  period  successfullv,  he  has  since  gained  steadily. 
As  the  race  lengthens  his  metfl'/— "  A  dust  dug  from  the  bowels  of 
the  earth  "-^increases  rapidlv  and  tells  heavily  in  his  favor.  Asiei-- 
oid  is  a  prepossessing  name.  So  far  he  has  cantered  along  without 
endeavoring  to  lead.  But  now  as  he  enters  the  second  half  of  his 
centuiy,  his  blood  and  training  begin  to  tell,  and  "the  quiet  brown 
colt  with  the  star  in  his  forehead"  is  seen  in  the  front  rank.  He  is 
supposed  to  represent  the  "gentleman  and  the  scholar,'"  who  has 
kept  "himself  unspotted  from  the  world,"  while  setting  it  an  ex- 
ample of  integrity  and  refinement,  and  aiding  bv  word  and  deed 
in  its  moral  and  intellectual  improvement.  I  hope  he  is  a  favorite 
with  you,  and  that  you  will  emulate  his  example;  and  that  the 
Asteroid  of  Wallamet  Universitv  will  keep  well  to  the  front  in  the 
sweepstakes  of  this  generation. 

The  "black  colt"  appears  to  have  reached  the  goal  of  his  am- 
bition— a  good  parish  and  a  fitting  helpmeet — and  is  going  along  at 
an  easy  gait,  caring  only  to  do  his  duty  and  save  his  distance. 
Indeed  the  struggle  is  now  well  over.  Unlike  the  Derby,  the  pace 
slackens  as  the  end  approaches.  Here  are  the  notes  upon  the 
next  and  last  two  turns  in  the  course: 

'^  Forty  years.  More  dropping  off— but  places  much  as  before.  Fifty  years.  Race 
over.  All  that  are  on  the  course  aie  corains;  in  at  a  walk;  no  more  running.  Who 
is  ahead?  Ahead?  What!  and  the  winning  post  a  slab  of  white  or  grey  stone 
standing  out  from  that  luif  Ml  tie  tl'.eie  is  no  more  .jockeying  or  straining  for 
victory  !" 

And  so  the  long  strife  for  the  goal  ends  at  the  grave.  And  the 
winners!  what  of  them?  Alas!  we  cannot  even  tell  who  they  are. 
Some  of  those  who  appear  to  be  such,  have  carried  light  weight, — 
others  have  ridden  foul  or  across  the  field.  Doomsday  alone  will 
distinguish  the  true  from  the  false — the  real  winners  from  the  losers. 
In  the  meantime,  and  whatever  else  the  world  may  say  or  do,  we 
may  rest  under  the  comfortable  assurance  that  no  one  has  lost  or 
run  in  vain,  who  has  done  his  dutv  as  best  he  knew  or  could,  ii  that 
state  of  life  to  which  it  has  pleased  God  to  call  him. 

Education  is  a   thing  much  talked   of  at  this  dav.      Its  importance 


•^  U'dlldiiHt   ['//irrr.siti/. 

,111(1  iilililv  ;irc  LCt-'ncriill\-  inlmitu-il;  hut  the  thin;;  itself  is  variously 
umk-rstooil,  and  not  a  little  misapprehended.  There  is  an  education 
w  hieh  assists  one  to  ^et  alonj;  in  this  world.  It  is  sometimes  called 
a  practical  education.  By  it,  a  youth  is  tauj^ht  the  rudiments — to 
read,  write  and  cipher — to  the  same  end  and  in  the  same  spirit  that 
the  acrohat  learns  to  halance  upon  the  tight  rope,  or  the  athlete  to 
walk  under  a  crushing  weight — so  that  he  may  with  the  more  ease 
and  certainty  obtain  food  and  raiment,  if  not  great  wealth.  This 
education  is  not  to  he  despised  or  depreciated.  On  the  contrary,  it 
is  very  useful  and  convenient;  and  is  even  more  than  a  great  part 
of  the  world  ha\e  vet  attained  to,  or  perhaps  ever  will. 

Rut  there  is  a  broader,  higher  education,  whose  aim  and  end  is 
the  cultivation  of  the  learner, — not  so  much  for  the  sake  of  enabling 
him  to  get  wealtii,  as  to  tit  him  tor  the  best  use  of  it,  and  if  need 
be,  to  live  usefully  and  happily  without  it.  This  education — or  the 
foundation  of  it — you  are  presumed  to  have  received,  and  therefore 
the  responsibility  is  devolved  upon  you  of  doing  something  more 
tlian  tilling  your  barns  with  plenty. 

Since  the  great  and  sudden  increase  of  money  consequent  upon 
the  discovery  of  gold  in  California  and  Australia,  and  the  increase 
of  currency  during  the  war,  colossal  fortunes  have  been  suddenly 
amassed  in  all  the  considerable  centres  of  trade  and  business,  by 
persons  without  the  previous  experience,  training  or  culture  needed 
to  fit  them  for  the  right  appreciation  anil  proper  discharge  of  the 
duties  and  responsibilities  of  such  a  trust.  Naturally  enough,  these 
persons  seek  to  command  recognition  and  attract  attention  in  society, 
by  a  free  use  and  lavish  display  of  their  new-found  wealth  and  all 
tliat  it  can  procure.  The  consequence  has  been,  that  palatial 
residences,  extravagant  equipages,  costly  dinners,  elaborate  dresses 
and  gorgeous  receptions  have  become  in  a  great  measure  the  chief 
distinction  and  end  of  social  life. 

lietore  this  gilded  juggernaut,  seduced  by  its  outward  show  and 
splendor,  and  the  prospect  of  partaking  of  its  profits,  often  bows 
down  the  scholar,  the  poet,  the  artist,  the  statesman,  the  lawyer  and 
the  divine, — while  the  nameless  crowd  tread  hard  upon  each  other's 
heels,  in  their  eager  haste  to  catch  and  batten  upon  its  corrujjti ng 
favi>r  and  ]-)atronage.      Some  of  the  truits  of  thi-  su  Men  ac(|uisition 


lAddress  by  Matthew  P.  Deadij.  9 

of  wealth  in  the  United  States,  by  people  who  have  neither  inherited 
civilization,  nor  had  time  to  acquire  it,  are  graphically  described  by 
a  recent  writer  on  "  The  pursuit  of  the  Dollar."     He  says : 

"  The  waste  in  vulgar  ostentation  is  great.  Crude  ornamentation,  of  the  character 
of  a  New  Yorli  omnibus,  or  a  palace  sleeping  car,  is  seen  in  every  direction,  where 
money  has  been  accumulated.  Show  precedes  comfort  apd  utility.  Houses  are 
full  of  paint  and  glass.  Men  are  not  unfrequently  seen  with  a  magnificent  solitaire 
diamond  on  a  soiled  shirt  bosom;  and  women,  with  the  same  precious  stones  on 
fingers  whose  nails  are  in  mourning.  ■•'■■  ■■■  '■■■  ■■■  '■■■  This  man 

has,  perhaps,  the  revenues  of  the  lord  of  the  manor,  which  are  spent  for  a  meager 
return.  The  Italian  who  turns  the  organ  for  a  few  cents  before  the  windows  of  his 
pretentious  house,  could  probably  spend  them  more  profitably,  to  the  soul,  as  well 
as  the  body." 

Vulgar  extravagance,  fast  living  and  garish  display,  being  ac- 
cepted as  evidence  of  distinction  and  high  social  position,  the  giddy, 
vain  and  aspiring  poor,  soon  endeavor  to  vie  with  the  diamond-decked 
nabobs  and  millionaires  in  evervthing,  and  then  come  peculation, 
theft,  briberv,  and  all  the  gross  and  dishonest  practices  and  devices 
which  of  late  years  have  so  corrupted  and  debased  the  pri\  ate  and 
public  life  of  the  United  States. 

But  you  who  have  given  the  morning  of  your  life  to  self-im- 
provement— to  getting  wisdom  and  understanding — ought  always 
to  insist  upon  a  higher  and  truer  standard  of  excellence  and  dis- 
tinction, than  the  acquisition  and  possession  of  Ophir,  Five-twenties, 
Double-eagles,  or  any  other  form  of  the  so-called  Almightv  Dollar, 
Instead  of  these,  make  thatAvealth  which  is  more  difficult  to  obtain 
and  more  endin-ing  and  worthy  of  desire  and  pursuit  than  any  other 
— the  wealth  of  character  and  culture,  duly  seasoned  with  sound 
morals  and  good  principles — the  tirst  passport  to  your  admiration 
and  res»,ect.  Whatever  vour  calling  or  income  may  be — however 
humble  or  exalted  your  lot  in  life — you  owe  it  to  vourseh  es  and 
your  education,  never  to  forget  the  innate  superiority  of  learning 
over  lucre;  and  that  virtue  and  intelligence  are  the  only  sure  foun- 
dations of  true  greatness,  happiness  or  prosperity. 

But  I  would  not  be  understood  as  deprecating  industrial  pursuits 
or  the  desire  or  endeavor  to  acquire  wealth  by  honest  means  for 
laudable  purposes.  The  men  who,  by  self-denial,  industry  and  up- 
rightness, have  accumulated  wealth,  are  in  no  small  sense  public  beii- 
etactors  and  profitable  examples.  They  are  the  useful  and  needed 
reservoirs,  into  which  are  gathered  the  floating  and  surplus  re- 
sources of  the  country,  and  without  which  it  would  suiTer  materially. 


lo  ]l',!  I  III  III  it   I'/iirrrsifi/. 

(lurinj^  the  seasons  of  scarcity  incident  to  all  trade  and  industrial  pur- 
suits. ICven  the  man  who  hoards  for  the  lo\  e  f)f  jjaih  merely,  is,  so 
far,  a  I)etter,  or  at  most,  a  liss  harmful  memher  of  society,  than  the 
tliouj^htless,  careless  sjjendthrift  and  prodi<;al,  wIkj  layishes  on  the 
present,  regardless  of  the  future,  \yhateyer  comes  to  his  hand;  and 
when  oyertaken  l>y  old  a<^e,  sickness  (jr  death,  becomes  an  unjust 
liurdeii  upon  the  community,  he  has  neyer  henefited.  I  sometimes 
tear  that  the  indiscriminate  and  inconsiderate  philanthropy  of  this 
aj^e,  is  sappiiiL^  the  Inundations  of  iudustrx  and  thrift,  by  confound- 
ing^ the  industrious  and  economical  with  the  indolent  and  wasteful. 
Time  was,  when  the  jjauper  was  buried,  not  by  the  side  of  the  man 
who  paid  his  funeral  expenses,  but  apart — in  a  Potter's  Field.  Hut 
now-a-days,  all  such  tributes  and  stimulants  to  well  df)in<^  are  disre- 
ijardcd  as  uncharitable — and  the  man  who  dies  in  poyerty,  he- 
cause  he  was  too  lazy  to  labor  or  too  wasteful  to  saye,  is  buried  at 
the  public  expense  beside  of  his  nei<^hbor,  who  by  constant  exercise 
of  industry  and  economy,  honestly  paid  his  way  throu<;h  life — eyen 
to  tlie  iLjraye.  The  old  fashioned  notion — that  a  man  who  diil  not 
proyide  for  himself  while  living  and  for  his  burial  when  dead,  is 
derelict  in  his  duty  to  society,  was  right  in  the  main,  and  on  the 
whole  productive  of  good  results.  It  distinguished  and  discrimina- 
ted between  idleness  and  vice  on  the  one  hand  and  industry  and 
virtue  on  the  other,  by  honoring  the  latter  and  discrediting  the 
former. 

Still,  it  is  true,  that  the  pursuit  of  material  gain — whether  in 
making  provision  for  the  animal  wants  of  man  or  gratifying  his 
lust  for  dominion — is  not  the  highest  or  ultimate  purpose  of  his  ejt- 
istencc.  The  aim  of  the  scholar  should  he  far  above  that  of  the  low 
utilitarian  philosophy  of  Franklin,  which  has  borne  its  legitimate 
fruit  in  the  worship  of  the  Creature  instead  of  the  Creator,  and  the 
substitution  of  the  sensual  test —  W'i//  it  pay  ?  for  the  spiritual  (jne 
— Js  it  right?  He  should  rememVier  that  it  is  better  to  know  the 
meaning  of  the  stars  than  to  count  them;  that  it  is  of  more  import- 
ance to  be  able  to  answc"  the  old  and  ever  recurring  qnec«^ion — 
^/t id  est  Veritas? — than  to  nave  invented  a  sauce  or  jumping  jack, 
or  discovered  a  mine,  or  the  source  of  the  Nile.  True  greatness  is 
more  or  less  moral,  and  is  only  reached  by  living  under  the  con- 
stant influence  of  a  lofty  ideal,  even  though  it  never  be  realized. 


:>iddress  by  Mattheic  P.  Deady.  n 

In  the  battle  of  life  always  choose  duty  for  your  watchword  and 
motto,  rather  than  the  victory.  A  life  whether  humble  or  exalted, 
steadily  impelled  and  guided  by  the  dictates  of  duty — 

"Stprn  daughter  of  the  voice  of  God," 
is  ever  worthy  of  the  highest  honor  and  admiratif)n.     The  thought- 
less multitude  may  applaud  the  victory,  unmindful  of  how  it  comes  or 
is  attained.     Too  often  it  is  that — 

"All  the  proud  virtue  of  this  vaunting  world, 
Fawns  on  success,  however  acquired." 

Knowing  nothing  beyond  appearances,  it  is  naturally  governed  by 
palpable  results,  without  reference  to  their  causes  or  merits.  But 
remeinber,  that  its  judgments  change  with  the  seasons,  and  its 
honors  are  liable  to  wither  and  decav  at  the  first  breath  of  misfor- 
tune or  reverse. 

Popidar  applause  is  not  often  deep  seated,  and  is  usuallv  won  and 
lost  without  adequate  merit  or  faidt.  In  all  ages  the  Polloi  have 
alternately  deified  and  damned  their  favorites  and  flatterers, accord- 
ing to  the  fancy  or  caprice  of  the  moment.  The  famous  general 
and  statesman,  Alcibiades,  was  twice  banished  by  his  sometime 
ardent  admirers — the  fickle  /Vthenians.  Marius,  the  plebeian  hero 
and  favorite  af  the  Roman  people,  was  driven  bv  them  into  exile, 
to  wander  a  fugiti\e  among  the  ruins  of  Carthage,  where  he  had 
latelv  led  the  victorious  armies  of  the  Republic.  And  to  come 
down  to  our  owiv  countrv  and  times;  I  have  seen  a  distinguished, 
popular  faxorite,  whose  word,  l)nt  a  dav  liefore,  like  that 

"Of  Cfcsar,  might 
Have  stooil  against  the  world" — 

in  Oregon,  publicly  hung  in  effigy  and  denounced  as  a  traitor,  be- 
cause, forsooth,  he  differed  with  the  popular  impression  of  the  mo- 
ment— though  agreeing  with  the  oiice  popular  idol,  feff'erson — 
upon  the  right  of  an  American  State  peaceably  to  secede  from  the 
Union.  But  to-day,  some  of  the  most  conspicuous  actors  in  these 
scenes  are  among  his  professed  admirers,  and  are  fain  to  seek  his 
good  will  as  a  stepping-stone  to  public  favor. 

But  this  is  no  argument  in  favor  of  indiflerence  to  or  disregard 
of  public  opinion,  or  excuse  for  indolence  or  ignorance  in  the  dis- 
charge of  the  duties  or  labors  devolving  upon  us.  So  long  as  it 
does  not  involve  the  surrender  of  principle  or  the  neglect  of 
duty,   the  good    will    of  mankind    is   a    matter  to  Ik-  regarded  with 


1^  U'dlhiiili'l    f  '/lirrrslfi/. 

iiiikli  lax  1)1.  Tlir  Mian  nr  woman  who  is  iiidillcrciit  t(»  the  oj)iiiioil 
ol'thr  c'oiiinuinil  \ ,  and  rcall\  feels  thai  it  is  a  thiiijj  of  no  inonicnt 
ill  wliat  esteem  he  or  slie  is  held  \i\  others,  is  lackinj;  in  one  of  the 
most  cdectual  aids  aiul  stiimihints  to  enterprise  and  <;oo(l  conduct. 

The  ri<^ht  sentiment  on  the  subject  was  jjrandly  expressed  by 
Lord  Mansfield,  under  the  most  meinorable  circumstances — when 
])ronoiincinfi^  the  jud<^ment  in  Westminster  Hall,  in  the  famous 
^\'iIkes  outlawry  case,  while  the  purlieus  of  the  court  and  the 
neighboring  streets  were  filled  with  an  excited  and  ignorant  mob 
of  Wilkites,  "ready  to  celebrate  the  triumph  or  avenge  the  defeat" 
of  this  jjrofiigate  demagogue,  whom  thev  had  already  chosen  to 
the  House  of  Commons  in  spite  of  his  disability  After  deliberately 
stating  that  neither  the  dictation  of  the  press  nor  its  daily  calum- 
nies could  influence  the  action  of  the  court,  he  said: 

"I  honor  the  King  and  respect  the  j^eople;  but  main  things  ac- 
(juired  by  the  fayor  of  cither,  are,  in  my  account,  objects  not  worth 
ambition.  I  wish  popularity;  lu/t  it  is  that  popularity  which  Jol' 
/oz(.'s\  )iot  that  zvhich  is  run  after ;  it  is  that  popularity  zc'hich, 
sooner  or  later,  ?iever  fails  to  do  Justice  to  the  pursuit  of  noble  ends 
by  noble  means' 

Neither  arc  we  sent  here  to  float  idh  with  the  current  and  at 
last  drift  helplessly  on  a7iy  shore,  as  the  accidents  of  wind  and  tide 
may  chance  to  determine.  To  become  useful,  wealthy,  learned, 
distinguished  or  great,  for  good  ends  and  by  just  means,  are  laud- 
able objects  of  ambition  and  worthy  of  your  constant  and  utmost 
endeayors. 

Upon  any  theory  of  man's  nature  and  destiny  which  distinguishes 
him  from  "the  beasts  that  perish,"  this  world  is  a  probationary 
state,  in  which  the  better  we  do  and  deserve,  the  better  it  will  be 
with  us  in  both  time  and  eternity. 

"  Life  is  real .'  I^ife  is  earnest ! 

And  tlie  grave  is  not  its  goal; 
'  Dust  thou  art,  to  dust  returneth,' 

Was  not  spoicen  of  the  soul. 

Not  enjoyment,  and  not  sorrow, 

Is  our  destined  end  or  way; 
But  to  act,  that  each  to-morrow 

Find  us  fartlior  than  to-day." 

Follow,  then,  where  duty  leails,  and  if  success  comes  close  upon 
endeavor,  well  and  good.  Hut  if  not,  be  not  despondent,  or  con- 
sider yourself  absolved  from  the  universal  obligation  "to  labor  and 


."id  dress  hi/  Ma  ft  heir  P.  Dead  if.  13 

to  wait"  on  God's  good  pleasure  for  your  reward.     Let    us    reason 

and  resolve  with  Cato' — 

"  'Tis  not  in  mortals  to  command  success, 

But  we'll  do  more,  Sempronius:  we'll  deserve  it." 

Meet  disappointment  and   misfortune   with   the   heroic  hope  and 

resignation  expressed  by   Milton,  when  "•bereft*  of  light  "-^"  holy 

light!  offspring  of  Heaven's  first-born"- — he  exclaimed: 

" Yet  I  argue  not 

Against  heaven's  hand  or  will;  nor  bate  a  jot 
Of  heart  or  hope;  but  still  bear  up  alid  steer 
Right  onward." 


Sooner  or  later  an  occasion  \vill  come  to  each  of  Vou  when  nou 
will  be  called  upon  to  choose  between  some  present  gain  and  the 
dictate  of  duty.  This  will  be  the  supreme  moment  of  your  exist- 
ence, and  the  issue  of  it  may  color  and  control  all  your  remaining 
life.  Cast  the  temptation  behind  you,  and,  if  heed  be,  flee  from  it. 
If  the  path  of  dut}'  leads  you  away  from  the  alluring  field  of  the 
world's  pleasures  and  rewards,  and  up  the  rocky,  steep  defile  of 
poverty  and  obscurity,  still  follow  it,  even  without  murmuring  or 
looking  back.  Stand  by  your  deliberate  convictions  of  right,  and, 
if  need  be,  stand  alone.  The  world  will  come  round  to  you  in  due 
time;  and  if  not,  you  have  your  reward: 

"  One  self'approving  hour  whole  years  outweighs, 
Of  stupid  starers  and  of  loud  huzzas; 
And  more  true  joy  Marcellus  exiled  feels 
Than  Csesar  with  a  Senate  at  his  heels." 

Nor  is  true  success  confined  to  those  who  appear  to  succeed,  ac- 
cording to  the  judgment  and  opinion  of  the  world.  Material  suc- 
cess— wealth,  honor  and  friends — is  not  to  be  despised  or  neglected. 
But  think  not  that  even  in  this  world,  happiness — the  very  flower 
and  fruit  of  true  success — is  confined  to  those  Vvhom  the  world 
openly  honors  and  rewanls.  There  are  those  who  deliberately 
dwell  above  and  beyond  the  ordinary  aims  and  influence  of  the 
world — persons  w'hose  mind  is  a  kingtlom  to  them.  Often 
they  are  pitied,  neglected  or  scorned  by  their  generation.  But  the 
happiness  vouchsafed  to  them  in  the  sincere  and  unselfish  contem- 
plation and  pursuit  of  the  ideal  and  infinite,  may,  and  doubtless 
often  does,  far  exceed  that  which  awaits  upon  those  who  delve  in 
the  earth  only,  and  in  retiu'ii  are  filletl  with  w  hat  are  known  as  the 
good  things  of  this  world. 


14  Will  Id  III  it    I  'iiirrrsifj/. 

IIiMi   ()n.'^n)irs  I'oc-t    siii'L,'    of  tlusc'   souls,  not  iiiKlcrstood  l)y  you 
;iti(l  me,  and  lluii  s.iy  with  liiii),  lh;it   iiia\  hup — 

•''I'lK-y  foiK-li  on  faln-r  s|ii>rfN  tliiin  IIiIh," 

ulicicoii  \vc  ciJinmon  mortals  walk  and  f^athtT  <^ain  tVoin  the-  ocean- 
tossed  wrecks  of  others''  hopes  and  li\es, 

"  All !  then-  l>r  SI  Ml  Is  none  iiiKlcrstiiiiil; 

UniinchortHl  ships,  they  blnw  and  hlow. 
Sail  to  and  fro,  and  tlicn  go  down 
In  iinkn«>wn  seas  (liat  none  shall  know. 
Without  ono  ripple  of  renown. 

Call  these  not  fools;  the  test  of  worth 
Is  not  the  hold  you  have  of  earth. 
Lo!  there  be  gentlest  souls  sea-l)lr)wn 
That  know  not  any  harbor  known. 
Now  It  may  be  the  reason  Is 
They  touch  on  fairer  xhorr.i  than  thix." 


The  hadije  and  vice  of  this  a^e  lies  in  its  seeming'  rather  than 
being — in  pretending  to  he  what  we  are  not.  Scarcely  anything  is 
real;  and  it  is  so  difficult  to  distinguish  the  true  from  the  false,  that 
the  one  passes  almost  as  current  as  the  other.  Whatever  opinion 
or  conduct  is  popular  or  profitable,  is  straightway  imitated  or  aflfect- 
ed  by  mmibers,  who  know  little  and  care  less  about  the  soun(hiess 
or  morality  of  either. 

The  insane  rage  for  equality  which  overflowed  from  the  volcano 
of  the  French  Revolution,  seems  to  have  jiermeated  all  the  relations 
and  circumstances  of  life,  until  its  disturbing  influence  is  seen  and 
felt  everywhere. 

Because  the  servant  is  \  er\  properU  the  equal  of  her  mistress  be- 
fore the  law,  it  is  assumed  that  she  must  also  be  her  equal  in  st\le 
and  appearance.  To  minister  to  this  false  pride  and  pretence^ 
capital  and  labor  are  profitably  employed  to  provide  the  former 
with  cheap  and  comparativeK-  worthless  counterfeits  and  imitations 
of  the  elegant  garb  and  costly  adornments  of  the  latter. 

No  sooner  does  ;i  particular  article  or  product  acquire  a  reputa- 
tion for  usetulness  or  excellence,  than  the  rascally  ingenuitx .  which 
seems  to  pervade  all  the  departments  of  skilled  labor,  tills  the 
market  with  a  host  of  cheap,  sjiurious  imitations  and  counterfeits. 
As  was  expected,  these  are  freely  purchaseil  and  consumed  by    that 


Address  hi/  Mutthnr  P.  Dead//.  15 

numerous  class  of  people,  who  are  always  willing  to  sacrifice  their 
true  interest  and  comfort,  for  the  sake  of  appearing  to  be  the  equals 
of  their  wealthier  neighbors. 

Cheap  factoi"ies  of  the  learned  professions— called  colleges  and 
institutes — openly  vie  with  the  regularly  established  and  conduct- 
ed schools,  and  vend  cheap  and  false  diplomas,*to  those  who  are 
willing  to  pass  for  graduates  without  bestowing  the  time  and  money 
necessary  to  secure  the  genuine  article.  The  real  art  that  fills  ''  the 
animated  canvas  "  with  the  facts  of  history,  the  flights  of  fancy  and 
the  creatures  of  imagination — the  beauties  of  nature  and  the  linea- 
ments of  "the  human  face  divine,"  is  mocked  and  confounded  bv 
the  manufacture  of  cheap  chromos,  that  impudently  profess  to  be  a 
perfect  imitation  and  counterfeit  of  the  renowned  original. 

The  hope  of  receiving  a  Ribbon,  a  Star  or  a  Title  from 
the  royal  fountain  of  honor,  or  being  awarded  a  niche  in  the  British 
Pantheon,  among  the  illustrious  dead  of  the  Empire,  has  done  more 
to  preserve  and  maintain  the  integrity,  prowess  and  dominion  of 
England,  than  all  the  gold  of  her  commerce,  twice  told  and  repeated. 
Honors  and  titles,  rightfully  considered,  constitute  a  never  failing- 
public  treasure,  of  infinitely  moi'e  use  and  value  as  a  means  of  pro- 
curing faithful  and  heroic  service  to  the  State,  than  all  its  material 
revenues.  From  this  mint  of  honor  might  issue  as  occasion  required, 
the  highest  and  most  endiu'ing  rewards  that  a  people  can  bestow  upon 
those  who  deserve  well  of  their  country.  But  the  genius  of  sham 
and  seeming  has  been  nowhere  more  busily  employed  in  the  work 
of  debasement  and  destruction  than  here.  Pretending  to  despise 
titles  and  distinctions,  we  use  and  abuse  them  without  stint  or  rea- 
son. A  conceited  fellow  who  feels  called  upon  to  denounce  the 
title  of  Earl  or  Lord,  as  ininncal  to  Republican  institutions  and 
Democratic  equality,  will,  at  the  same  time,  accept  without  scruple 
some  military  or  civil  distinction  to  which  he  has  no  claim,  or  avail 
himself  of  every  opportunity  to  add  to  his  plebeian  patronymic — 
as  an  overgrown  tail  to  a  kite — half  the  letteis  in  the  alphabet. 

The  few  official  designations  which  are  known  to  our  law  s,  and 
the  honorary  distinctions  which  ante-Revolutionary  usage  had  an- 
nexed to  the  names  of  persons,  holding  high  ofiices,  ha\  e  been  so 
cheapened  and  debased  by  popular  use  and  abuse,  that  they  have 
■ictually  come  to  be  regarded  as  of  little  or  no  value  or  consideration, 
apart  frcMii  the  pecuniar\'  emoluments  pertaining  to  them. 


1(^1  It'll llimirf    I'mnrs'iiii. 

"TIk' Kriirul  old  nurnror  K<'>>ll<-iniiii, 
|ii>ruin>-(l  liy  cvj'ry  chiirliiliin, 
And  KolI'd  with  ull   iKtlitltl)-  uhc."— 

has  lost  its  sij^iiitication  and  is  applied  indiscriminately  to  the  gentle 
and  ritN<r/i-^  while  in  comrnDii  parlance  every  woman,  however 
horn,  hrcd  or  hehaved  is  a  ladv.  llonorahle  and  Es(juire  have  he- 
come  so  common  as  to  he  <k'\r)id  ofmeaninj^,  and  now  plain  Mister 
is  a  distinction  compared  witli  cither  of  them.  Lawyers,  who  were 
never  upon  "The  Bench,''  and  others  who  never  even  drew  pleas 
tor  John  Doe,  are  called  hy,  and  accept  without  a  hlush,  the  desig- 
nation of  '•'•Judf^e."      Man}-  a  one — 

"That  never  set  a  siiuadron  in  the  field, 
Nor  the  division  of  a  hatlle  knows,"— 

is  hy  some  freak  or  chance  courtesy  duhlx;d  "General," — and  there- 
after passes  current  with  the  hero  of  a  hundred  fights.  Every- 
now-and-tiicn  some  land-luliher,  who  hy  stock  gambling  has  ac- 
iiuired  the  control  of  a  line  of  steamers,  is  hailed  hy  his  dependent 
admirers  as  "Commodore" — and  thenceforth  neither  Nelson  nor 
FarraLijul  ever  flaunted  as  pretentious  a  pennon  as  this  same  self-made 
Commodore. 

Courtesv  Colonels,  Majors  and  Caj^tains  are  as  plenty  as  hlack- 
licnics.  The  genuine  article  is  so  confounded  with  the  spurious, 
that  unless  the  title  is  t'ollowed  by  the  initials,  U.  S.  A.,  it  is  rather 
suggestive  of  the  want  of  military  experience  and  position  than  the 
possession  of  them. 

Extravagance,  gross  and  vulgar,  goes  hand  in  hand  with  these 
shams  and  pretences,  while  close  upon  them  follow  fraud,  pecula- 
tion and  theft.  Pinchbeck,  Paste  and  Pretence  prevail,  and  to  all 
outward  seeming  the  true  and  the  false  have  become  hopelessly 
confounded.  Certainly,  the  time  has  come  for  a  reformation  in 
this  particular.  I  believe  the  country  is  still  sound  at  the  core;  but 
unless  this  carnival  of  sham  and  pretence  is  abated,  it  will  corrode 
it  to  the  heart. 

May  we  not  expect  that  the  scholars  of  the  country  will  cast 
their  influence  and  example  on  the  side  of  honesty  and  truth — of 
being  rather  than  seeming.  As  graduates  of  this  school  of  learn- 
ing and  morals,  vou  are  under  some  obligation  to  the  community 
which  has  placed  the  privileges  and  opportunities  you  have  enjoy- 
ed here  within  vour  reach.  In  return,  let  me  urge  upon  you  the 
dutv  of  maintaining,  bv  precept  and  example,  the  value  and  neces- 


Hd  dress  of  Matt  heir  P.  Deadij.  17 

sity  of  honesty  and  uprightncsss  in  all  the  affairs  of  life.  And, 
however  at  times  it  may  seem  to  the  eontrarv,  be  assured  that  in 
the  lonor  run — 

"Corruption  wins  not  more  than  honesty." 

In  commenting  upon  the  love  of  honesty  to  h^is  son,  Sir  Thomas 
Wyatt  says,  that  it  includes — "Wisdom,  Gentleness,  Soberness,  de- 
sire to  do  Good,  Friendliness  to  jj^et  the  love  of  nianv,  and  l^ruth 
above  the  rest.'''' 

Whereupon  he  discourses  upon  the  subject  pleasantU'  as  follows: 

"A  great  part  to  liave  all  these  tilings  is  to  desire  to  have  them.  And  although 
glory  and  honest  name  are  not  the  very  ends  wherefore  these  things  are  to  he  fol- 
lowed, yet  surely  they  niust  needs  follow  them  as  light  followeth  fire,  though  it 
were  kindled  for  a  warmth.  =•■  ■••■  ■■■  ■•■■  If  you  will  .sce»n  honest,  6'' honest  or  else 
seem  as  you  are.  Seek  not  the  name  without  tlie  thing;  nor  let  the  name  he  the 
only  mark  you  shoot  at;  that  will  follow  though  you  regard  it  not;  yea!  and  the 
more  you  regard  it  the  less.  *  ••■■  '■•  •'■=  Honest  name  is  goodly;  but  he  that  hunt- 
eth  only  for  that,  is  like  him  who  would  rather  neem  warm  than  he  warm,  and 
edgeth  a  single  coat  about  with  a  fur." 

And  now,  after  a  lapse  of  three  and  a  half  centuries,  these  quaint 
but  eloquent  words,  so  "fitly  spoken,"  are  still  worthy  to  be  likened 
unto  "apples  of  gold  in  pictures  of  silver,"  and  engraved  u])on  the 
tablets  of  your  memory. 

The  position  and  vocation  of  the  scholar  in  the  world  is  materi- 
ally changed  from  what  it  was  a  century  ago.  Then  people  of  a 
liberal  education  seldom  engaged  in  trade,  commerce  or  manufac- 
tures. A  university  man,  was  either  a  person  of  fortune  and  leisure, 
or  intended  for  one  of  the  learned  professions,  or  the  army.  Oc- 
casionally some  poor  or  singular  wight  like  Goldsmith,  unaltle  or  lui- 
fit  to  journey  on  these  Roval  Highways,  betook  himself  to  litera- 
ture or  Grub  street.  But  now,  learning  in  a  considerable  degree 
belongs  to  all  classes  and  piu-suits.  True,  it  is  generallv  of  the 
most  meagre  and  practical  kind,  and  only  intended  to  enable  its 
possessor  to  succeed  in  some  of  the  practical  walks  of  life.  Many 
study  science,  not  so  much  for  the  loxe  of  nature  or  knowledge,  as 
to  use  its  secrets  in  the  practice  and  pin^suit  of  the  mechanic  arts. 
Others  study,  also,  history,  language,  literature,  logic  and  rhetoric, 
so  that  they  may  write,  speak  and  teach  acceptabK,  and  with 
effect — not  only  for  the  good  of  others,  but  also  that  they  mav  i>ro- 
yide  for  their  own  households. 

During  the  past  century  a  great  portion  of  the  learning  and  aliili- 

3 


i8  U'dl  III  111(1   I'li'iiirsif  ij. 

t\  III'  tin-  il;i\  li;is  ln-c-ii  drawn  into  what  w x-  call  ])()litics.  In  this 
period,  political  (lucstioiis,  or  the  sccidar  side  or  aspect  of  contro- 
versies alFectiiif;  the  piihlic  weal  or  sympatiiies,  liave  taken  the 
nlace  in  the  treneral  mind  of  iheolo^iical  ones.  Dnrini' the  l6th 
and  17th  and  the  first  half  of  the  iSth  centuries,  politics  were  sub- 
ordinate to  relii^ion;  hut  in  the  latter  (piarter  of  the  iSth  century 
politic^  hcLTJin  to  Ik-  the  contidllinj^  consideration  in  public  action, 
hotli  in  war  and  peace;  wiiile  the  19th  century  has  witnessed  the 
conipUtion  of  the  chanL,^e.  With  the  relative  increase  in  the  im- 
portance  of  politics,  tfovernnienl  has  become  an  aflair  of  the  many 
rather  than  the  few.  Theories  of  government — the  rights  and 
duties  of  sovereign  and  subject,  together  with  countless  schemes 
and  dreams  for  the  reconstruction  of  society  or  the  melioration  or 
inipro\ement  of  the  condition  of  its  members — are  constantly  pro- 
pounded and  discussed  by  all  classes  and  conditions  of  people. 

This  general  interest  and  acti\ity  in  whatever  concerns  the 
social  life  of  man  has  prochiced,  among  other  things,  the  modern 
newspaper,  as  a  convenient  vehicle  for  the  communication  and  ex- 
change of  observation  and  opinion  upon  all  subjects.  Journalism, 
from  being  the  precarious  pursuit  of  unknown  adventurers  and 
presumptuous  sciolists,  or  the  anonvmous  b\-  pla\'  of  the  learned 
jM'ofessions  and  the  literati,  has  itself  become  one  of  the  professions, 
in  which  are  found  some  of  the  most  cultivated  and  able  men  of 
the  countrv.  The  tcndencv  and  effect  of  all  these  things  has  been 
to  work  a  change  in  the  character  and  pursuits  of  the  schohir.  As 
a  rule,  he  has  become  comparativelv  practical  and  worldly.  He  is 
no  longer  regarded  as  belonging  to  a  distinct  order  or  priesthood, 
pursuing  learning  for  its  own  sake.  He  has  turned  his  back  upon 
the  Cloister  and  the  Grove,  and  casting  aside  his  cap  and  gown,  he 
has  gone  forth  into  the  arena  of  the  world,  where  amid  the  clash 
and  conflict  of  jarring  opinions  and  hostile  svstems  he  has  found  a 
remly  market  for  his  attainments,  and  compensation  and  distinction 
tor  himself. 

As  a  consequence,  he  is  in  constant  danger  of  being  absorbed  by 
the  world  and  converted  into  a  zealous  partisan  of  some  set  of 
opinions  and  course  of  conduct  which  form  the  staple  of  some  party, 
sect  or  school.  The  love  anil  habit  of  calm  contemplation  and 
unbiased  pursuit  of  truth,  are  tlestroved  bv  the  heat  of  dispute  and 
the  desire  and  necessitv  for  victorv.     Sometimes,  either   as  an  aux- 


:>lddress  hi/  Matthew  P.  Deadij.  19 

iliary  or  retainer,  he  suffers  himself  to  be  harnessed  to  tiie  car  of 
some  lawless  monopoly  or  capitalist  or  doubtful  operation  or  adven- 
ture, and  thus  soils  his  soul  in  the  doing  of  dishonest  drudgery, 
where  he  ought  to  be  iree  to  approve  or  condemn,  as  right  and 
justice  may  requii'e. 

But  you  should  remember  that  the  learning  of  the  scholar  may 
be  better  employed  than  in  feathering  arrows  for  any  side  of  any 
controversy  which  will  pay  best,  or  at  all,  for  them.  The  purest 
and  noblest  aim  that  can  animate  the  scholar  is  to  pursue  and  com- 
municate knowledge  and  virtue  for  the  honor  and  glory  of  God 
and  the  good  of  his  fellow-men.  For,  after  all — whether  a  poet, 
preacher,  orator  or  teacher — it  is  as  an  Instructor  and  Helper  of 
others  that  the  scholar  can  best  discharge  the  duties  incumbent  on 
him  and  make  the  world  better  for  his  having  lived  in  it. 

"  Thoughts  that  breathe  and  words  that  burn,"— 
whether  uttered  from  the  pulpit  or  the  platform,  or  in  the  seclusion 
of  the  school-room  or  study,  have  produced  mightier  consequences 
and  wrought  greater  good  to  man  than  armies  and  navies  which 
for  the  moment  shook  the  world  with  the  weight  of  their  move- 
ments. 

"  A  dreamer  dropped  a  random  thought;  'twas  old,  and  yet   'twas  new; 

A  simple  fancy  of  the  brain,  but  strong  in  being  true. 

It  shone  upon  a  genial  mind,  and  lo !  its  light  became 

A  lamp  of  life,  a  beacon  ray,  a  monitory  flame. 

The  tliought  was  small;  its  issue  great;  a  watch  fire  on  tlio  hill; 

It  sheds  its  radiance  far  adown,  and  cheers  the  valley  still. 

A  nameless  man,  amid  a  crowd  tliat  thronged  the  daily  mart, 

Let  fall  a  word  of  Hope  and  Love,  unstudied  from  the  heart; 

A  whisper  on  tlie  tumult  thrown,— a  transitory  breath,— 

It  raised  a  brother  from  thi-  dust;  it  saved  a  soul  from  death. 

O  word  of  love!  O  thought  at  random  cast! 
Yp  were  but  little  at  the  first,  l)ut  mighty  at  the  last.' 

Yet  the  fact  remains,  that  by  far  the  greater  part  of  the  graduates 
of  Ainerican  schools  go  at  once  from  their  studies  to  pursuits  whose 
chief  end  is  gain.  There  can  be  no  doubt,  that  it  were  better  if 
this  were  otherwise,  and  that  a  larger  portion  of  them  could  and 
would,  in  some  way,  devote  themselves  to  the  improvement  of  the 
Yvorld — content  to  i-eceive  a  living  from  it  in  return,  instead  of  en- 
deavoring to  make  a  fortune  out  of  it.  But  even  this  condition  of 
things  is  not  without  compensation  to  the  community.  So  far  as 
persons  of  education  and  cultm-e  engage  in  the  trade  and  affairs  of 


-O  ll'dlhiiiiit    I'liircrsit u- 

tin-  coimliy,  tin-  luttfi'  it  is  lor  the  l.ittir.  IJiit  it  i>  a  j^rcat  itlls' 
fortiiiK-  that  a  laij^a-r  proporlicoi  of  such  persons  do  not  take  an 
acti\L'  interest  in  the  pohtical  and  ])usiness  methods  and  morals  of 
ihe  tinus  from  an  impartial  standpoint — neither  \\arj)ed  hv  the  hias 
of  party  nor  hhnded  l)y  "tiie  raj^e  of  j^ain."  A  few  rcsohite  and 
independent  persons  of  cuhure  and  intet^ritv  in  evcrv  c<»inrnunitv, 
\\  lio  were  free  and  w  ilUni^  to  arraign  and  eX])ose,  at  the  har  <»f 
Pnl)he  C)j)inion,  the  hnndm^s,  knaveries,  foUies  and  indirections  of 
the  (hiy,  Would  he  of  incalculahle  henefit  to  the  country.  Then  in 
our  Centennial  hymn,  while  proudly  thankinj^  God  for  our  freedom 
and  opulence,  we  mi<^ht  not  feel  constramed  also  to  hoAV  our  heads 
and  say — 

"  whilo  withal  Wv  cravr 

Tlie  iiusterc  virtuos  strong  to  savp, 

The  honor  proof  tf»  place  or  gold — 

The  manhood  never  boujrht  nor  sold  !'' 

as  if  these  were,  indeed,  our  sore  want  and  need. 


To  day  the  country  is  suffering-  in  interest  and  reputation  hecause 
of  the  absence  or  exclusion  of  the  scholar  and  j^^entleman  from  the 
conduct  and  manag-emeiit  of  its  affairs.  Thereby,  these  have  hirge- 
ly  fallen  into  the  clumsy  and  unclean  hands  of  the  "  scurvy  politi- 
cian," who  makes  the  success  of  faction  and  personal  gain  and  ad-- 
\  antage  the  chief  end  of  his  existence.  Therefore,  in  the  selection 
of  pu])lic  servants,  character,  ability,  learning,  pnjpertv — the  very 
things  for  which  a  man  ought  to  be  honored  and  trusted — are  too 
often  contemptuously  disregarded;  while  the  needy  vagrant,  the 
supple  knave  and  sturdy  rutyian,by  simply  bowing  Knver  and  shout- 
ing louder,  than  their  betters,  to  the  party  idol  or  idea,  wlioever  or 
whatever  it  may  be,  are  promoted  and  exalted. 

"80  easy  still  it  proves  In  factious  times, 
With  public  zeal  to  cancel  private  crimes." 

Integrity,  intelligence  and  cultivation  seek  and  find  employment 
and  distinction  everywhere  except  in  the  civil  service  of  the  Uni- 
ted States.  It  would  be  easy  to  name  a  few  private  institutions  in 
many  of  the  States  that  probably  employ  more  of  these  qualities 
than  are  to  be  found  in  such  service  within  their  respective  limits. 
Throughout  the  United  States,  the  ignorant,  incompetent  and  dis- 
honest are  found  in  its  ser\  ice  in  large  numbers.  Upon  meagre 
and  insutticient    salaries    iialf  ]x'rtorming  antl    half  neglecting  their 


^If/f/res.s  hii  Mdtthctr  P.  Dcady.  a 

ciuties,  thev  float  in  and  out  of  office  with  cverv  chaiif^e  of  the  po- 
litical tide-soften  w  ith  as  little  thought  or  care  for  the  true  inter- 
ests of  the  country  as  a  transient  armv  of  occupation  upon  a  foreign 
soil.  Thev  are  usually  tenants  at  will,  and  have  little  or  no  in- 
ducement to  do  more  than  make  what  thev  can  for  themselves  out 
of  the  premises  while  in  their  possession.  Some  of  them,  hv  the 
practice  of  fraud  and  indirection,  manage  to  grow  rich,  while  not  a 
few  contrive  bv  the  same  means  to  live  gross  and  prodigal  Hacs, 
whose  example  and  contagion  are  worse  than  pestilence. 

From  the  rank  and  impure  civilization  of  the  rich  and  populous 
cities,  whose  governments  are  the  expression  of  a  universal  suffrage 
that  is  largely  indigent,  ignorant  and  vicious,  the  method  and  in- 
fection of  maladministration  rises  and  spreads  in  everv  direction. 
And  so  the  gross  and  corrupt  practices  of  the  municipal  government 
of  the  chief  commercial  citv  of  the  countr\  soon  made  their  ap- 
pearance in  its  comparati\eh   rural  political  capital. 

After  the  conquest  of  Svria,  the  Censors  of  Rome,  referring  to 
the  decline  of  Roman  morals  and  manners  consequent  upon  the 
contact  with  the  corrupt  and  lascivious  people  of  Antioch,  were 
wont  to  exclaim :  ''The  waters  of  the  Orontes  have  muddied  the 
Tiber!"  So,  in  view  of  the  events  which  have  transpired  within 
the  past  few  years  in  the  city  bearing  the  honored  name  of  the  fath- 
er of  his  country,  mav  not  \vc  with  equal  reason  exclaim  :  The 
waters  of  the  Hudson  have  muddied  the  Potomac! 

In  some  degree,  whatever  your  calling  or  position  in  life  mav  be, 
each  of  you,  as  an  American  citizen,  will  have  an  opportunity,  both 
i")V  voice  and  example,  to  aid  in  purifying  the  politics  of  the  coimtry, 
and  elevating  and  impro\ing  the  tone  and  methods  of  the  public 
service,  and  it  will  l)e  your  imperative  duty  to  do  so.  He  faitht'ul 
to  this  opportunity  and  obligation.  Remember,  that  no  nomina- 
tion, platform  or  profession,  howe\er  unanimous,  high-sounding  or 
correct,  can  excuse  you  for  supporting  a  dishonest,  \icious  or  in- 
competent person  for  any  position. 

Notwithstanding  the  ugly  eruptions  on  the  surtace  of  the  body 
politic,  I  believe  the  country  is  still  sound  at  the  heart,  and  witli 
proper  treatment  ma\-  in  time  be  restored  to  a  healthy  condition. 
To  this  end  yt)u  may  materially  contribute  by  always  and  e\ery- 
where  inculcating  the  idea  that  no  government  or  jjolitical  society. 
howe\er    wiseh     founded    or   devised,  can    long    work  well,  unle^v 


22  irdlliliilit    I  'i/ir<Ts//!/. 

jiistl\   and  ri^htlv   adminisliTi'il ;  and    lliat    lliiscaii    unl\    l)C"  arcoin- 
|)li'>lu(l  1)\   tin-  a;4t-iicv  ol"  lioiu-st  and   caijaltlc  n)(.-n. 

Man\  t^ood  people  arc  hcj^iniiin;^  to  d(nil)t  whctlicr  an  honest 
;,M)\  (.•rnnu-nt,  bv  tlu-  |)c<)pk'  and  for  the  people,  is  any  lonj^er  pos- 
sible in  these  I'nited  States.  IJut  I  think  they  arc  too  dcspoiulent. 
Theie  lia\e  been  spots — nav  blotches — on  our  escutcheon  before 
t()-da\.  At  present  we  are  K"'"?^  throut^h  a  j^eneral  clean  up,  pre- 
parat()r\'  to  a  Presidential  election.  I  iitortunatelv,  the  election  of 
a  chief  niaj^istrate  tuins  more  upon  the  faults  and  misdeeds  <jf  the 
respecti\  e  parties  and  candidates  than  their  merits.  Just  now  it 
bids  fair  to  be  a  conflict  of  accusation  and  calumin'.  But  let  scan- 
dal antl  malice  be  encountered  by  pure  and  stainless  lives  while  cor- 
ruption and  bribery  are  left  to  meet  their  proper  doom.  Our  dirty 
liuen,  of  which  there  seems  to  be  a  good  deal  left  over  from  the 
war,  is  being  noisily  washed,  and,  what  makes  it  more  offensive, 
washed  in  public — in  the  newspapers — the  onlv  way,  it  appears,  we 
can  get  our  public  laundering  done.  But  I  have  faith  that  the 
Augean  stable  of  our  civil  service  will  be  cleansed  and  reformed. 
I  believe  there  is  still  intelligence  enough  among  the  American 
people  to  perceive,  that  so  long  as  the  public  service  is  kept  and 
maintained  as  a  refuge  and  asylum  for  mere  political  adventurers, 
bankrupts  and  henchmen,  and  the  official  patronage  is  used  as  the 
mere  pabidum  of  party  or  the  private  property  of  political  bosses, 
rather  than  instruments  for  the  public  good,  they  have  no  right  to 
expect  either  capacity  or  integrity  in  their  public  servants;  and 
that,  perceiving  this,  they  have  the  requisite  sense  and  courage  to 
devise  and  applv  some  speedv  and  effectual  remedv  for  the  evil. 
But  if  thev  tail  in  this,  then  we  are  already  in  "the  Decline'''' of 
"the  Empire'''  and  "the  FalT''  is  only  a  question  of  time. 

But  enough  upon  this  point.  Indeeil,  I  gladly  turn  away  from 
the  contemplation  of  a  result  that  I  trust  you  may  live  to  prevent 
but  never  see. 

And  now,  fearing  that  I  have  already  wearied  you,  I  bring  my 
remarks  to  a  close.  Voin"  beloved,  faithful  and  honored  president 
stands  waiting  to  confer  upon  vou  the  honors  you  have  so  well 
earned.  As  he  places  the  laurel  upon  vour  brows,  remember  with 
gratitude  how  much  vou  are  indebted  to  him  and  his  faithful  as- 
sistants for  the  care  and  cultuie  vou  ha\e  received  while  here. 


:4(/((ress  hi/  Matt  heir  P.  Datdi/.  H 

"  Hcnor  and  reverence,  and  the  good  rci)iiii' 
That  follows  faithful  service  as  its  fruil. 
Be  unto  liiiii." 

In  conclusion,  let  mc  commend  to  }ou,  as  a  beacon-lijiht  and 
land-mark  on  your  journey  through  life,  the  wise  and  manly  senti- 
ments contained  in  Burns' epistle  to  his  "young*  friend,  Andrew.'"' 
Poets,  orators  and  divines  have  given  pages  of  exhortation  and 
admonition  to  those  about  to  embark  upon  the  uncertain  sea  (j1  liie. 
But  in  my  judgment,  few  or  none  of  these  excel,  if  they  equal,  in 
sound  sense  and  good  morals,  these  apt  and  beautiful  lines  of  the 
Ayrshire  bard  to  his  "youthfu'  friend,"  who,  like  you,  was  soon  to 
"try  the  world"  to  find,  as  vou  may,  "mankind  an  uncou  squad." 

"To  catch  Dame  Fortune's  golden  smile. 

Assiduous  wait  upon  her; 
And  gather  gear  by  every  wile, 

That's  justified  by  honor; 
Not  for  to  hide  it  In  a  hedge, 

Not  for  a  train  attendant; 
But  for  the  glorious  privilege 

Of  being  independent. 

The  fear  o'  hell's  a  hangman's  whip, 
To  hand  the  wretch  in  order; 

But  where  ye  feel  your  honor  grip, 
Let  that  aye  be  your  border; 

It's  slightest  touches,  instant  pause- 
Debar  51'  side  pretences; 

And  resolutely  keep  its  laws, 
Uncaring  consequences. 

The  great  Creator  to  revere. 

Must  sure  liecome  the  Creature; 
But  still  the  preaching  cant  forbear. 

And  e'en  the  rigid  feature; 
Yet  ne'er  with  wits  profane  to  range. 

Be  complaisance  extended; 
An  atheist's  laugh's  a  poor  exchange 

For  Deity  offended; 

When  ranting  round  in  pleasure's  ring. 

Religion  may  be  ))lind(Hl; 
Or  if  she  gie  a  random  sting, 

It  may  be  little  minded; 
But  when  on  life  we're  tempest-driven. 

A  conscience  but  a  canker— 
A  correspondence  fix'd  wi'  heaven 

Is  sure  a  noble  anchor." 

And   now,  young   friends,  again   I  greet    and    congratulate    you 
upon  the  successful  issue  of  your  college  career.      .\s   you  go  torth 


291142 


i\  irulhiiiiif   I'liirvrsit II. 

iViim  I'.K-c  llalK  In  ouniiuiui-  the-  \(>ya<;c  of  life,  coiiu-  what  may, 
rcs()l\c  to  kii'j)  smn  miwaid  course,  with  Duty  at  the  hehn  and 
CoiT^citiue  at  the  prow.  Study  and  strive  to  dest-rve  success,  rather 
than  lo  attain  it.  (^uit  yourselves  like  men  and  women.  Be  real 
and  not  sham  --|)rirer  hchu^  to   srtnn'n^. 

"  He  JtiHl  1111(1  fear  not; 
I,ol  all  till-  i'IhIk  Itioii  alincMt  at.  In-  thy  coiiiitry'H, 
Tliy  fiod's  anil  tiulh's;"  — 

and  then,  when  \  ou  lia\  c  cr<»sscd  the  narrow  isthmus  <»t' 'I'ime,  and 
stand  disLiithialled  n])<)n  the  shore  of  the  houndiess  f)cean  of  eter- 
nitv,  mav  vou  hear  with  joy  uns|Hakal)le,  the  Ileaveidy  plaudit — 
Well  done  thou  «;ood  and  faithful  servant,  enter  thou  into  the 
jov  of  tin    Lord. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  AT  LOS  ANCELES 

THE  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 
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